welcome to nhk world "newsline." voters in the united states have heard the pitches, they've seen the campaign ads, they know the stakes. now election day is here, and they're heading to polling stations across the country to decide who will be their next president, democratic incumbent barack obama or republican challenger mitt romney. voters in the eastern state of virginia headed to the polls tuesday morning. people will cast ballots in 49 other states and washington, d.c. residents of two villages in the state of new hampshire got a

jump on things. they cast ballots at midnight. people who live in dixville notch and hart's location have been the first to vote on election day since 1948. voters at the dixville notch put their ballots in the box at 12:00 a.m. officials counted them right away. >> for president, this has never happened before in dixville. we have a tie, five votes each. >> obama and romney didn't tie in hart's location. the president won 23-9. election day is a little different this time around for people in the state of new york. the storm that hit the u.s. northeast put some polling stations out of commission. the governor is relaxing the rules so voters won't be shut out. andrew cuomo issued an executive order allowing residents in areas affected by the storm to vote at any station. officials in neighboring new jersey are also making it easier

for people to cast ballots. more than 60 polling stations in new york city are still unusable because of flooding or lack of electricity. workers have set up alternative sites. the voting process in manhattan and the city's other boroughs has become more high-tech. people will be using a new electronic system. they mark paper ballots then insert those into a scanner. it's the first time the system people will use the system in a u.s. presidential election. the results will start streaming in tuesday evening in united states. obama and romney will watch the returns come in from their respective home bases, chicago and boston. obama arrived in his hometown early in the morning with the first lady. the latest polls suggest the president and his republican rival remain locked in a dead heat. obama spent the final campaign day visiting three swing states including ohio. he criticized romney's economic

policies, saying they would expand the wealth gap. romney also visited ohio along with three other battleground states. he said obama's work to fix the economy has ended in failure. romney and obama spent a lot of their time during this campaign arguing about the economy, but they also sold voters on their foreign policy plans. they talked tough on china. however, they didn't flesh out their approach for dealing with the world's second largest economy. nhk world's susumu kojima went to find some answers. >> reporter: president barack obama was elected four years ago. he promised a change from his predecessor, george w. bush. he has taken an approach to foreign policy. >> we were able to refocus our attention not only on the terrorist threat but also beginning a transition process in afghanistan.

it also allowed us to refocus on alliances and relationships that had been neglected for a decade. >> reporter: republican presidential candidate mitt romney says he will take a different approach. he says the u.s. must maintain its own strength to create stability around the world. >> it is our responsibility and the responsibility of the president to use america's greatest power to shape history. >> reporter: both candidates have talked about relations with china but often in economic terms. neither has explained enough how he would deal with beijing diplomatically. china is now the world's second largest economy. it's also strengthening its military power and it's growing more assertive in territorial disputes. professor zhao quansheng is an expert on asian policy at

american university in washington, d.c. he says both obama and romney would, if elected, continue the u.s. policy of engagement in the region. >> asia-pacific is a natural choice for the priority of u.s. foreign policy given the very size of economy, and this is the most dynamic region in the world. think about -- i mean, u.s., china, japan. number one, number two, number three economies, all in asia pacific. >> reporter: zhao says the potential for conflict in the region remains but that the flash points have shifted. >> before there were two historically so-called hot spots may bring the two powers to war,

one, korea peninsula, and the other, taiwan strait. but there are two new flashing points now. one is china sea, east sea, and, two, south china sea. >> reporter: the professor says chinese leaders will act more aggressively as their confidence grows. chinese officials will select a new leadership after the u.s. presidential vote. zhao says it will be important for the new leaders of both countries to work on creating mechanisms to avoid military confrontation. >> korea peninsula, taiwan strait, i always they that the current, relatively stable circumstances is a result of co-management of beijing and washington.

the dispute in east sea or in south china sea may still need the -- some kind of cooperation or even co-management between washington and beijing. >> reporter: more than ever china poses economic and diplomatic challenges to the u.s. the key to establish peace and stability in the asia-pacific lies in the hands of the next u.s. president. in a short while, we will know who will be in this position. susumu kojima, nhk world, washington. japan's auto industry is shifting into low gear because

of the yen's strength and flagging sales due to a territorial dispute. nissan motor is among the hardest hit. it's exposed most heavily to the chinese market, which accounts for 26% of its global sales. nissan says its first-half operating profit dropped 7% in yen terms from a year earlier to about $3.6 billion. that's mainly because of the yen's strength. the company predicts that profit for the entire business year ending next march will fall nearly 18% from its previous projection to a little over $7 billion. nissan officials attribute the drop to not just the strong yen but declining sales in china. they have cut their sales target there by 13% to 1.17 million vehicles. >> translator: we need to watch seriously and see what will happen to the japan/china relationship. we're naturally cautious about

future investment and doing market research. >> the fallout from the dispute between japan and china has promtded a number of japanese executives to reassess their operations. some have decided to get out of china. others will stick around. a research firm conducted a nationwide survey in october of more than 10,000 companies. almost 30% said the territorial dispute is affecting business. about one-third said china is now less r attractive either as a market or a manufacturing base. researchers also asked the heads of 1,600 companies with direct business in china about their future plans. more than half said they'll maintain operations. nearly 16% said they'll either cut back or quit. executives at japan's at suzuki motor have thrown it in

reverse. they're pulling out of the u.s. auto market. the company has decided to focus on emerging economies such as india. suzuki has been selling mostly small cars in the u.s. since 1985. the company's annual sales there peaked in 2007 when they sold more than 100,000 units. but the recession following the 2008 collapse of lehman brothers was a blow to suzuki. the stronger yen also made the situation worse. annual sales for last year plummeted to 27,000 units. suzuki spokespersons say they'll continue selling vehicles in hawaii while only offering motorcycle s and marine engines in the rest of the country. japan has decided to ease restrictions on beef imports from the united states. the government has made the decision after a panel of experts has reported that the step will post no safety risk. u.s. beef imports will start to increase from as early as the beginning of next year. japan's health ministry decided to allow imports of beef from

cattle 30 months or younger. that's on condition that the brain and spinal cord continue to be removed. these are parts where the pathogen of mad cow disease is believed to accumulate. japan decided seven years ago to limit u.s. beef imports to cattle aged 20 months or younger in order to prevent mad cow disease or bse from entering the country. the measure was taken after bse was found in cattle in the u.s. in 2003. an expert panel had earlier concluded that the risk of bse is very small even if the cattle age limit was raised. it pointed out there's been no reports of bse in the u.s. during the past ten years. reaction to the news was mixed among some retailers and consumers. >> translator: they say u.s. beef prices will come down about 20% once the ban is eased and imports increase. i think our customers will be happy.

>> translator: it doesn't matter how much cheaper u.s. beef will get. i want them to put food safety first. >> the easing of the ban will also apply to beef imports from canada, france and the netherlands. japan's latest key economic indicator fell in september for the sixth straight month. a decline in global demand is a primary reason. the cabinet office said on tuesday that the coincident index dropped 2.3 points from august to 91.2. that's against a base of 100 for the year 2005. the index tracks the current state of the economy and reflects activities like employment and industrial output. the decline was a result of the global economic slowdown and falling car production that followed the end of government subsidies for buyers of ecofriendly cars. cabinet officials changed their assessment of the economy from weakening to signaling a possible turning point. they indicate there is a

possibility that the economy may have started slowing down. they said they will remain cautious about a further slowdown in other major economies. a government survey had found more than a third of japan's university graduates are not working full-time. that's despite a higher ratio of jobs to grads. the survey covers work activities among graduates using data from universities nationwide. it was spearheaded by the cabinet office to identify their job search habits. about 560,000 students graduated this spring. only around 64% are working full-time. 80,000 of the remaining students surveyed are pursuing graduate study, while 20,000 work part-time. 16% of last year graduates are still unemployed. the survey found small and medium sized businesses are eager to hire, but new graduates tend to set their sights only on major firms. the government will collaborate

with business group leaders and university officials to find ways to bridge the gap between employers and job seekers. a corruption case in russia has brought down a top government official. president vladimir putin has fired the defense minister, anatoly under suspicion for his alleged involvement in a massive fraud case. putin appointed a new defense minister. the president referred to an ongoing probe into alleged fraud at a defense ministry affiliate. he said he decided to fire him to create conditions for an objective investigation into all matters. the case involves the sale of ministry property allegedly at prices far below market value. the transaction resulted in

losses of more than $93 million. authorities are questioning of his aides, a female executive, at the affiliate. he became defense minister in 2007. he worked on organization reforms and reduced military personnel, mainly officers. the military criticized him for that. analysts say putin hopes to improve public support for his government by replacing him with the popular shoigu. a group of south korean parents have been charged with obtaining fake foreign passports for their children. they wanted to send their children to international schools. prosecutors say 47 people are involved, including top corporate executives. they passed off their children as guatemalan or honduran and sent them to international schools across korea over the last three years up until august. the schools only accept foreign students. prosecutors say each family paid up to $125,000 to intermediaries

in brokerage fees. in south korea's highly competitive society, parents are eager to send their children to international schools to improve their language skills. in the waters of journsouth japan, plans are hatching to tap an almost limitless source of free electricity from ocean currents. around the world, tidal power and the movement of the waves are already being used as a source of electricity. but there have been few efforts to harness the energy of deep sea currents. in the wake of the fukushima nuclear accident, this new japanese project could be a big boost in the search for alternative sources of green energy. nhk world's tack hay coe asa i can reports from okinawa. >> reporter: propellers slowly turning under the surface of the

sea. these could be the first step to the tapping of the energy of the ocean currents. it's part of an ambitious project led by professor tsumoru shintake and his team at okinawa institute of science and technology. the plan is to create a network of 300 huge propellers positioned a hundred meters under the surface. they could generate 1 million kilowatts, equivalent to the power from a nuclear reactor. the researchers want to top the power of the current which flows northward past the islands and along japan's pacific coast. this deep slow-moving current provides a constant flow of moving water, making it's deal for generating power. >> translator: once the turbines have been placed deep down in

the current, we'll have a constant source of daily energy. >> reporter: the first step for his team is to test a small prototype turbine. the turbine is suspended under the water from a buoy on the surface. to replicate the current, the turbine is pulled through the water at a child's walking speed. the propellers begin rotating, but suddenly it all goes wrong.

>> reporter: all three blades snapped the instant they were hit by a strong wave. >> translator: our first test is over because of the broken propeller blades, but we got the turbine turning under water so in that sense it was a success. but we need to work on it some more. >> reporter: the hollow propeller blades are filled with plastic resin. this time they are tested to see how much pressure they can take. >> translator: the pressure on the blade is now 248 kilograms, twice as much as it could take before. >> reporter: three months later, the reinforced propellers are taken out for testing under

water. this time they continue to turn. better yet, the turbines are are generating electricity. >> translator: if we gradually increase the scale, in a few decades i believe we will be able to generate as much power from ocean currents as we get from several nuclear reactors. there is huge potential. it's amazing. this is an energy source that can last for hundreds of years, tens of thousands of years. >> reporter: over the next few years, the researchers aim to start generating power from medium-sized generators placed in the sea. it will be a major step toward unlocking the energy of the ocean currents. takaya kawasaki, nhk world, okinawa. a large number of houses

were damaged by liquefaction after last year's massive earthquake in northeastern japan. a research team held an experiment to test a new med method that makes houses more resistant. tokyo denki professor susumu yasuda and a major housing maker worked together on the development of the technology. under the new method, steel plates are placed around the foundation of a house. when liquefaction occurs after an earthquake, soil under the house loses strength and starts to sink. but when steel plates are used, the liquefied soil stay in place as it can't go anywhere else. therefore, the house remains upright. the experiment was conducted in scuba city northeast of tokyo. two model homes were built on a platform that could simulate earthquakes. the house on the left was reinforced by steel plates. both houses were built on

saturated soil. they were shaken for one minute. about 20 seconds later, water began seeping from the ground. the house on the right began to tilt and eventually sank 20 centimeters. the house with the steel plates was flooded but stayed upright. >> translator: i think this is one of the many effective methods that have recently been developed. >> the land ministry says about 27,000 houses suffered liquefaction damage in tokyo and eight other prefectures after last year's earthquake. american voters may be worrying about the weather on election day. for the answer, here's robert speta with the forecast. robert? well, across the u.s. here there are a few places we are watching. first, let's start talking about this area of cloud cover over wisconsin and minnesota. it's pushing down towards the southeast dragging with it an abundant amount of cold air, and some snow showers are going to be expected across the this area. could be seeing several

centimeters. farther south across florida, we have this area of cloud cover, a low-pressure area, that will bring rain showers towards jacksonville, tampa, orlando, as that continues to push towards the south. this is a swing state here, so rain showers really going to possibly have an impact on the polls. rain showers, though, once again, though, they're in jacksonville, high of 19. let's look farther towards the west on the other side of the country. seattle also seeing some showers across portions of british columbia. down towards the pacific northwest, some snow showers, higher elevation, some snow could be expected. in los angeles, sunny skies, above-average temperatures for you. but talking about those storms down there across florida, that's going to start to push off towards the north. on your tuesday, washington, d.c., over towards new york, you're seeing some sunny skies, but this is what's going to be on tap. there's a low pushing off there. on wednesday, that's going to be bringing a nor'easter, actually, to this area, and a rather potent storm system. right near the coastline, you could be seeing upwards of 70

kilometer-per-hour winds, not to mention the heavy snowfall. as that low comes up, with the counterclockwise winds, it will be dragging air down from canada. you could see whiteout conditions in portions of new york, pennsylvania, and definitely new england. a potent and dangerous storm system. many people here still recovering from sandy, which hit the area last week. keeping a very close eye on this on your wednesday. let's look over towards the other side of the world. here in that wen jiabao -- japan, we have heavy rainfall. in tokyo, 42 millimeters was reported in a one-hour span. now up towards hokkaido and the southern portions of hokkaido, 95 kilometer-per-hour winds was also recorded, so it shows the strong strength of this storm. now as it pushes off towards the east, hokkaido, you're expecting it to continue to linger throughout the remainder of the workweek. good news is that off towards the west and western japan, even across korea, we have this high pressure starting to work its way in. that's going to be bringing much fairer weather across much of the area.

temperatures are going to be shaping up like this, though. beijing with a high of 11, chongqing at 14, and over here towards tokyo getting into the low 20s. now, looking at europe, we are watching a low-pressure that is moving across italy here, some windy conditions for you, but also a little bit farther towards the east, we have this frontal area which is pushing off towards the back black sea, already into the balkans. this has been bringing some very heavy rains and even flooding conditions. i want to show you video coming out of this area where heavy rain over the weekend has caused rivers to burst throughout sloven slovenia, reld alarms sounded as some floods cut off entire communities here. these cars are under water. but also in croatia, they were also sit by heavy rain and strong winds, which flooded streets and brought down trees, although damage was minimal here. it does go to show that the strength of these storms as they did push overhead. now, once again, in italy, we have this other storm system a little bit farther towards the west across the iberian peps la,

a low pushing off here, bringing rain showers for you. off towards the north, frontal area diving towards the south, bringing gusty winds, heavy winds across the scandinavian peninsula, even some snow. 83 kilometer-per-hour winds were rormded here. temperatures are also reflecting the cooldown coming in from the north, though. stockholm with a high of 3. the low is at minus 1 for you on your wednesday. meanwhile, london at 10 and paris at 12. now here's a look at your extended forecast. ♪

we'll be back with more

updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. for all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us.